Jonathan Rea fourth fastest on day one of title-deciding weekend at Estoril in Portugal

Jonathan Rea ended Friday’s free practice sessions fourth fastest as the World Superbike champion-elect got to grips with the Estoril circuit in Portugal for the first time.
By Kyle White
Published 16th Oct 2020, 16:59 BST
Updated 16th Oct 2020, 17:00 BST
Jonathan Rea was fourth fastest in free practice on Friday at Estoril in Portugal.Jonathan Rea was fourth fastest in free practice on Friday at Estoril in Portugal.
Jonathan Rea was fourth fastest in free practice on Friday at Estoril in Portugal.

Scott Redding, Rea’s only remaining title rival going into the eighth and final round of the championship, utilised his previous experience of the circuit in MotoGP as he topped the sessions on his Aruba.it Ducati.

The reigning British Superbike champion was only 0.089s ahead of Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu at the end of day one, with Frenchman Loris Baz next on the Ten Kate Yamaha ahead of Rea, who was half-a-second off Redding’s benchmark lap of 1m 36.886s.

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Rea’s Kawasaki team-mate Alex Lowes was fifth quickest, while series rookie Garrett Gerloff completed the top six on the GRT Yamaha as the top half-dozen were separated by just seven tenths of a second.

Glenn Irwin is in contention for the British Superbike title this weekend at Brands Hatch.Glenn Irwin is in contention for the British Superbike title this weekend at Brands Hatch.
Glenn Irwin is in contention for the British Superbike title this weekend at Brands Hatch.

Eugene Laverty, who also previously raced at Estoril in the 250cc Grand Prix class, was 18th fastest on the factory BMW.

Five-time champion Rea will be crowned champion once again on Saturday should he finish the opening race in the top 13.

After FP3, Superpole qualifying on Saturday is at 11:00 BST with race one scheduled for 14:00 BST.

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Meanwhile, British Superbike title contender Glenn Irwin was third fastest in FP1 at Brands Hatch in Kent on Friday.

The Honda Racing rider is third in the standings with three races remaining this weekend, 18 points behind VisionTrack Ducati’s Josh Brookes.

Former champion Brookes was fifth fastest, while fellow Aussie Jason O’Halloran – who is one point behind Irwin – led the session on the McAMS Yamaha by 0.076s from Bradley Ray (SYNETIQ BMW).

Christian Iddon, who is second in the championship and 16 points behind team-mate Brookes, was sixth fastest ahead of Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing).

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The final free practice session will take place on Saturday at 09.40 BST with race one at 16:15 BST.

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Related topics:Jonathan ReaPortugalEstorilChristian IddonEugene Laverty